持ち直す|もちなおすmochinaosu[4]nakadaka (mid-high)
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- godan verb, intransitive verbto recover; to rally; to improve; to pick up
- godan verb, transitive verbto carry in a different way; to change one's grip (on); to shift (a bag, etc.) from one hand to the other
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 持ち直す(もちなおす) |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 持ち直します(もちなおします) |
| Negative (nai) | 持ち直さない(もちなおさない) |
| polite (masen) | 持ち直しません(もちなおしません) |
| classical zu / nu | 持ち直さず・持ち直さぬ(もちなおさず・もちなおさぬ) |
| Past (ta) | 持ち直した(もちなおした) |
| polite (mashita) | 持ち直しました(もちなおしました) |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 持ち直さなかった(もちなおさなかった) |
| polite (masen deshita) | 持ち直しませんでした(もちなおしませんでした) |
| Te form | 持ち直して(もちなおして) |
| Potential | 持ち直せる(もちなおせる) |
| Passive | 持ち直される(もちなおされる) |
| Causative | 持ち直させる(もちなおさせる) |
| Causative passive | 持ち直させられる(もちなおさせられる) |
| Conditional (ba) | 持ち直せば(もちなおせば) |
| tara | 持ち直したら(もちなおしたら) |
| Volitional | 持ち直そう(もちなおそう) |
| polite (mashou) | 持ち直しましょう(もちなおしましょう) |
| Imperative | 持ち直せ(もちなおせ) |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
- Synonym立ち直るたちなおるNeutralAbout pulling yourself together after a setback or shock, as in 「ショックから立ち直る」; 持ち直す leans toward an illness or market turning back up.
- Synonym上向くうわむくNeutralLiterally points or turns upward; often used of the economy or market improving, as in 「景気が上向く」, and common in news; 持ち直す stresses a rally from bad to good.
- Synonym立て直るたてなおるNeutralMeans recovering from a bad state but is rarely used; say 「立ち直る」 instead.
- Related生き返るいきかえるNeutralComing back to life; also figuratively a sudden lift in spirits, as in 「生き返った気分」.
- Related蘇るよみがえるNeutralRevival of the dead, or of memories and vitality, as in 「記憶が蘇る」; 持ち直す is about an illness or market picking up.
- Related回復かいふくNeutralReturning to one's original good state; the most common word in both speech and writing, as in 「体力回復」; 持ち直す stresses turning up from a bad state.
- Related復活ふっかつNeutralReviving or coming back, as in 「人気が復活」; leans toward something appearing again after being gone.
- Related再起さいきWrittenWritten style; a comeback, as in 「再起を図る」; leans toward career contexts.
- Related復するふくするWrittenWritten style; returning to a former state, as in 「旧に復する」.
- Related復すふくすWrittenWritten style; a literary form of 「復する」, rarely used.
- Antonym衰えるおとろえるNeutralGrowing weak or declining — the opposite of the rally 「持ち直す」 describes.
- Antonym悪化するNeutralA situation worsening — the opposite of the improvement 「持ち直す」 describes.
For recovery in general, 「回復」 is the default. Use 「持ち直す」 when an illness, the weather or the market turns up from bad to good, as in 「病状が持ち直す」; it also covers re-gripping something you carry. 「立ち直る」 is for pulling yourself together after a setback, and 「悪化する」 for things getting worse.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


